Thursday, March 28, 2024 Mar 28, 2024
44° F Dallas, TX
Advertisement
Radio

Russ Martin Scores Early

By Tim Rogers |
Image

RMS-KINGThanks to portable people meters, a technology borrowed from Star Trek, Arbitron can now measure radio audiences in ever smaller time segments. Martin returned to the North Texas airwaves on July 12, and in the first three days, he brought in some big numbers for KEGL 97.1. In the 18-to-34 demo, during the 6 to 10 a.m. slot, he took the station from No. 15 to No. 3. And in the 25-to-54 demo, he took the station from No. 14 to No. 1. Those are big jumps. But as one radio executive tells me (and I use the term “executive” loosely):

Looking at ratings over the short term (one week or three days of one week) is kind of like watching the stock market for an hour or a day or a week, rather than over a month or a quarter. It’s a very, very small snapshot that may or may not be indicative of what really is happening big picture-wise.

I tuned in for short periods during my drive to work for the first couple of weeks Martin was on the air. To my ear, he came out of the gate haltingly (which was to be expected, given how long he’d been farting around his house and auto repair shop, away from a broadcast studio). The show just didn’t feel like it had the same pace and momentum I remembered. On-air stumbles (looking for the right sounders in the computer, trying to figure out when to go to commercial or traffic or whatever) that once sounded organic and welcome, if not planned, sounded on the new show like they were simply on-air stumbles. But even in the short time he’s been on the air, I’ve noticed improvement.

We’ll see whether that “very, very small snapshot” is indicative or not. There could have been a lot of people like me, just straying from their usual radio appointments out of curiosity to see what the show sounds like. Or, as the billboards say, maybe the king is back.

Related Articles

Image
Travel

Is Fort Worth Really ‘The New Austin’?

The Times of London tells us it's now the coolest city in Texas.
Image
Dallas 500

Meet the Dallas 500: Chakri Gottemukkala, o9 Solutions

The o9 solutions leader talks about garnering a $3.7 billion valuation, growing 10x over the next few years, and how the company is innovating.
Image
Local News

An Early Look at 2026 FIFA World Cup Logistics

The World Cup matches will be held in Arlington, but Dallas will be home to a great deal of team and fan experiences. We're getting an early look at what that will look like.
Advertisement